Before such catheter systems became known, only tubes running out through the skin of the patient were available. Of course such unnatural connections to the skin necessarily lead to the increased occurrence of infections. Furthermore they handicap the patient and can only be used for a limited period of time to give certain medicaments, for example, chemotherapeutic agents or pain killers. Patients who need to be given medicaments, some of which are aggressive, over a long period of time or repeatedly are however often advised that there is a connection, for example to the central vessels, that can be used any time in the abdominal cavity or else in the spinal cord canal. Nowadays these patients receive by way of an operation a dimensionally stable reservoir which is introduced under the skin by means of a relatively large surgical incision. This reservoir is then connected to the corresponding catheter in a vessel, the abdominal cavity or else in the spinal cord canal.
The totally implantable catheter systems known inter alia from "Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift" 114 (1989), pages 655 to 658 have proven to be satisfactory as they avoid a transcutaneous tube connection that has to be continuously maintained and they do not handicap the patient. However, in order to implant the dimensionally stable reservoir, an operation under local anaesthetic or even general anaesthetic is needed which in turn brings with it new and not inconsiderable risks such as infections and surgical bleeding. Furthermore dimensionally stable reservoirs cannot as a rule be used immediately after implantation because of the post-operative swelling of the wound.